How we’re strengthening online safety in Singapore

As AI increasingly becomes more widely used throughout Asia-Pacific, it’s more important than ever that we help keep people safer online. Today, 1 in 2 Singaporeans use generative AI tools every day. But unfortunately, that includes bad actors who use it for sophisticated cyberattacks: more believable phishing emails, difficult-to-detect malware and online misinformation.

To combat this, our products have AI-powered protections built-in to detect and block threats, while tools like About this result and Gemini’s features — like related content links within responses and Double Check — help people evaluate information produced by our AI. And beyond our products, our partnerships and programs help give Singaporeans the knowledge and confidence to approach technology safely themselves. Partnering with government, industry and nonprofit organizations has always been key to these initiatives.

At our second Safer with Google event today, we were joined by Guest-of-Honour, Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development & Information and Ministry of Health, Madam Rahayu Mahzam, along with other industry leaders and partners.

Here are our updates on our progress — and some new initiatives — to keep Singaporeans safer online.

Our fight against scams

In response to the increase in financial fraud attacks in Singapore, we partnered with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore in February to launch a new enhanced fraud protection feature within Google Play Protect for all local Android devices. Launched first in Singapore, the feature protects mobile users against malware scams by blocking potentially risky sideloaded apps.

Since February, the feature has blocked nearly 900,000 high-risk app installation attempts on over 200,000 devices. Many of these apps are impersonations of popular messaging apps, gaming apps or e-commerce apps that were potentially used for fraud.

We’re also launching a new Play feature that will show a "Government" badge on authentic government apps, making it easier to identify trusted government services.

And, we’ve made RCS Business Messaging (RBM) available to all RCS-enabled Android users in Singapore. RBM’s messages are encrypted and verified to ensure they come from legitimate brands and organizations – so businesses can connect with their customers more securely.

Digital literacy

The rise in scam incidents shows us that we need to double down on reinforcing digital literacy efforts — particularly among those most vulnerable. Through Google.org, our philanthropic arm, we’re supporting Bamboo Builders, a Singapore-based social enterprise, with a USD$2 million grant (approx. S$2.6 million) to launch SG ScamWISE, an initiative that aims to protect 100,000 underserved youths and seniors against scams and online threats by 2026. This marks our largest ever Google.org support to a Singaporean social impact organization.

Bamboo Builders will partner with the Tech for Good Institute to conduct research on scams in Singapore and Southeast Asia, partner with local organizations to conduct anti-scam training and work with youth ambassadors to raise awareness on scam prevention.

We’re also launching our third YouTube Creators for Impact program. Supported by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, local creators will raise awareness of online harms prevalent among Singaporean youth – like cyberbullying and image-based sexual abuse.

More online safety professionals

Lastly, to stay ahead of bad actors and online threats, we need to build a community of skilled defenders.

We’re partnering with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to develop a first-of-its-kind rigorous Trust and Safety professional training course to develop more Trust & Safety experts in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region.

Through this multidisciplinary curriculum, participants will learn from Trust & Safety experts about policy, enforcement, legal matters, and other relevant areas. The course will cover a wide range of online safety topics, including misinformation, online scams, and emerging issues like AI safety and responsibility.

Together with our partners, we hope to build a safer digital world for Singapore and beyond.